state. in juarez, mexico, it's a state of war. 5,000 murders in the past two years. police chiefs, judges and city officials, assassinated a city living in terror and grief. and now, that violence is moving down the border. >> storm's coming. shut the windows, shut the doors, because you're fixing to get wet. the storm's coming. >> reporter: and i notice you got your deputies out here. >> we can't see what's on the other side of the levy over there. i'm sure they're watching every move that we're walking over here. >> reporter: sheriff west and i walked along the river, accompanied by armed deputies. and while we were standing there, homes on the mexican side of the border went up in flames. a frequent occurrence as drug gangs torch the houses of anyone that resists their control. but there is a fence here. or, some fence. so, the american taxpayer spent money, put up this fence. >> lots of money they spend here. >> reporter: and it runs right to here. >> the only thing missing is a bunch ne

a narco state like that makes any kind of development-- economic or political-- problematic, particularly when you have a corrupt and incompetent and essentially dishonest government that's just stolen an election. so, that makes the burden all that much more difficult and challenging. >> come back to the question of non-government organizations. we asked some of our experts about the roles, uh, maybe others have more flexibility in than governments do. let's hear what they have to say. >> civil society-- i use the term governments, yes--are now in the post cold war era playing a vital role, in fact, they are much more trusted by the international community sometimes than the governments. and therefore it is in the interest of governments to work with them, not as adversaries, but as potential allies in addressing the problems in their own countries. >> by partnering with organizations like these, uh, the u.s. and, and our other allies, uh, can both get local knowledge, which can be very useful, but also local legitimacy. and so, in many cases the challenge is really making sure these org

and so they've basically become central american narco states and they really don't have the capability o fight back. host: some of the detail here in the piece. a mere 1% of cocaine went through central america as recently as 2007. today, summer between 60 and 90% does. he also talks a little bit about honduras and the crime there. 7.3 million people, 15 murders a day. guest: it's like washington, d.c. in the battle days. host: let's go to jerry, good morning. caller: yes. thanks for taking this call. i like your perspective on guinea. i think maybe today we may hear the two finalists with respect to their first ever elections since 1958 since independence. do yeah have any insight? would you care to forecast if guinea can ever remove -- be removed from the failed state status? guest: well, i'm actually pleasantly surprised that they've even had this election. i think a lot of people like me included, when he came to power there, there was that massacre in the stadium last september. people were very skeptical that the hunto would meet its promise of holding elections. but i think as w

and so they've basically become central american narco states and they really don't have the capability o fight back. host: some of the detail here in the piece. a mere 1% of cocaine went through central america as recently as 2007. today, summer between 60 and 90% does. he also talks a little bit about honduras and the crime there. 7.3 million people, 15 murders a day. guest: it's like washington, d.c. in the battle days. host: let's go to jerry, good morning. caller: yes. thanks for taking this call. i like your perspective on guinea. i think maybe today we may hear the two finalists with respect to their first ever elections since 1958 since independence. do yeah have any insight? would you care to forecast if guinea can ever remove -- be removed from the failed state status? guest: well, i'm actually pleasantly surprised that they've even had this election. i think a lot of people like me included, when he came to power there, there was that massacre in the stadium last september. people were very skeptical that the hunto would meet its promise of holding elections. but i think as w

had some decapitations, horrible murders nearby and beheads and some of those mutilations with the narco messages as become very commonplace in mexico. the tourist areas have been large leigh left a enand are not seeing this. but the states where they are located have seen some of this vice len. >> woodruff: -- violence. >> woodruff: but this does come after the campaign by president calderon to go after these drug cartels. are people sensing that the government is helpful in some way or is not able to do anything about what's going on ? >> well, early on in this campaign many mexicans fully supported president calderon's effort to go after drug cartels because they had reached such a level pov we are in a lot of these regions. but there really is some battle fat agency. people don't see that the strategy has worked. at least the law enforcement strategy as far as putting soldiers here or putting federal police on the streets. i mean the killing has continued unabated. but also as president calderon has pointed out what is the alternative if you back down. i mean these cartels have gaine

had some decapitations, horrible murders nearby and beheads and some of those mutilations with the narco messages as become very commonplace in mexico. the tourist areas have been large leigh le a enand are not seeing this. but the states where they are located have seen some of this vice len. >> woodruff: -- violence. >> woodruff: but this does come after the campaign by president calderon to go after these drug cartels. are people sensing that the government is helpful in some way or is not able to do anything about what's going on ? >> well, early on in this campaign many mexicans fully supported president calderon's effort to go after drug cartels because they had reached such a level pov we are in a lot of these gions. but there really is some battle fat agency. people don't see that the strategy has worked. at least the law enforcement strategy as far as putting soldiers here or putting federal police on the streets. i mean the killing has continued unabated. but also as president calderon has pointed out what is the alternative if you back down. i mean these cartels have gained su

has had some decapitations, horrible murders nearby and beheads and some of those mutitions with the narco messages as become very commonplace in mexico. the tourist areas have been large leigh left a enand are not seeing this. but the states where they are located have seen some of this vice len. >> woodruff: -- violence. >> woodruff: but this does come after the campaign by president calderon to go after these drug cartels. are people sensing that the government is helpful in some way or is not able to do anything about what's going on ? >> well, early on in this campaign many mexicans fully supported president calderon's effort to go after drug cartels because they had reached such a level pov we are in a lot of these regions. but there really is some battle fat agency. people don't see that the strategy has worked. at least the law enforcement strategy as far as putting soldiers here or putting federal police on the streets. i mean the killing has continued unabated. but also as president calderon has pointed out what is the alternative if you back down. i mean these cartels have gaine

it will be critical for the united states to work were responsible, democratic nations in the region to ensure that this does not become a window of opportunity for criminals. the success we have seen in colombia and the ongoing efforts being taken in mexico against the drug cartels have created an unfortunate sandwich effect in central america. but only through a united, hemisphereic wide approach that is based on a shared commitment to democracy, to security, to prosperity, will we achieve success against the narco traffickers and organized crime. again, mr. speaker i would like to extend my condolences to the families and friends who suffered as a result of tropical storm agatha. as the brave people of guatemala, honduras and el salvador continue to recover from this tragic disaster, please note that we have you in our heart and prayers. with that, mr. speaker. i have no further requests for time. and i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentlewoman from california. . ms. watson: mr. speaker, i have no further witnesses an